When talking about the social, historical and cultural significance of this novel, the author said: "The survival of a culture depends on its self-criticism, constantly correcting itself, enriching itself, boasting its old brand, and stubbornly refusing to go further. This is self-destruction ... because of personal selfishness and conservatism, how many precious heritages of the motherland have been ruined." Lao She thinks that the national inferiority of "joking with life" has constituted the gene of our nation's potential crisis, so he roars with Sha Zilong's soul-killing gun to awaken the souls of those who are still wandering in the "Oriental Dream". "Although this view has the author's words as a footnote, I still can't agree with it. According to this line of thinking, some people think that Sha Zilong is a pure villain, saying that he "stands still in the face of the turbulent waves of the times and is willing to admit defeat ... (This personality mentality) is like a corrosive agent of the spirit, which makes Sha Zilong's wisdom in the past dull and numb, and the chivalrous loyalty in the rivers and lakes has evolved into a narrow and selfish stunt passed down from generation to generation, becoming a martyr of the times for no reason. I think this view is extremely unfair. But this view is extremely popular.
Since the literary theory of the former Soviet Union was introduced into contemporary China, it has become a stereotype to analyze and evaluate literature and people and things in literature from the perspective of social, political and economic development. And euphemistically called: historical materialism. In fact, no matter from the original intention of Lao She 1935 when he wrote The Broken Soul Gun, or from the social, historical and cultural significance objectively contained in this novel, it is far from Lu Xun and his True Story of Ah Q.. The analysis of literature is not only feasible from the perspective of social, political and economic development. The author intends to analyze human works from the perspective of humanistic spirit.
The same thing, from different angles, will come to completely different conclusions.
From the perspective of social material utility, Wushu is not as good as foreign guns; From the perspective of humanistic spirit, foreign guns are far less than national martial arts; Judging from the scientific and technological content, national Wushu is not as good as foreign guns; Judging from the cultural content, foreign guns are far less than national martial arts. China Wushu is the crystallization of thousands of years of oriental traditional cultural spirit. Wushu has not only external kung fu, but also internal spiritual realm.
What is the inner spiritual realm of Wushu? With the help of two ancient poems, we may be able to grasp the inner spiritual realm of martial arts.
"If Zen breaks, beauty is like a rainbow with five swords!" (Gong Zizhen)
This couplet originally described the realm of Zen and Taoism, saying that once the Zen master understood the true meaning, he would feel like a rock-breaker, but when he saw the beauty as jade, the snow blade was like a rainbow. This is a realm of Zen, which can also be said to be a realm of China Wushu. Because all kinds of Daoism in China are interlinked. The ancients said that poetry is like Zen. In fact, kendo is also like Zen. When it reaches the magical realm of personification, its internal spirit is basically the same, and its external phase is also very similar.
This poem refers to Zen with beauty and Zen with kendo. The so-called "beautiful as jade" means that the fat is moist, the bones are soft, mellow and mature, and there is no obstacle; Although extremely soft, it is extremely strong. The metaphor tells the true meaning of Zen, which is all-encompassing, soft, rigid, firm and moist, and everything is in it. The so-called "sword is like a rainbow" means that it is sharp as magic light, firm but gentle as a rainbow, colorful and unpredictable. If the appearance is illusory, it is actually very sharp; On the surface, in fact, the blade is everywhere, killing people without trace. Metaphor tells the true meaning of Zen, which seems illusory, but in fact it is extremely real, invincible and invincible.
If you appreciate it carefully, you are talking about kendo instead of Zen, which is the inner spiritual realm of Wushu: combining rigidity with softness, combining rigidity with softness; From real to real, even from virtual to illusory.
"Both ends are broken, and a sword is cold!" (BenQ Zen Master)
This couplet was originally the son of a Zen monk, which can be said to be a metaphor for Zen sword, and it can also be said to be a metaphor for Zen with sword. Zen is no different from kendo.
The so-called "cutting off both ends" means cutting off the worldly wisdom and ignoring the gains and losses of success or failure, the honor and disgrace of life and death; From this, we have returned to the true state of "I forget everything", that is, the state of "relying on the cold with one sword", that is, the state of understanding the true meaning of the unity of man and nature.
This is the realm of Zen and kendo. When the kendo reaches the state, the swordsman will definitely surpass the success or failure. Life is full of honor and disgrace, which makes me forget two things. Man's sword and the sky are integrated: the firm but gentle sword turns into the light of pure land, and the human body turns into the gas of mixed elements, which moves with the sky and the Tao. The sword light is invisible and cold with the sky! The cold light in the sky is like a virtual reality, and there are swords everywhere; Unpredictable, unreal and real, there is nothing in the cold light. Quiet and holy, nothing can hurt its fur; Move the king and attack the enemy invincible.
Soul Gun doesn't seem to describe the spiritual realm of martial arts in detail, but it does describe the different martial arts performances of three people-Wang Sansheng, Lao Sunman and Sha Zilong. In fact, these are three different martial arts realms.